Although Mr Green said that there were occasions when it was important to be able to see someone's face, he said it would be undesirable to pass a law dictating what people wore.
Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source & Credit: SKY News
By Sarah Gordon, Sky News Online
Burka Ban Ruled Out As 'Rather Un-British'
The immigration minister has ruled out a ban on wearing the burka in public saying it would be "rather un-British".
Damian Green said it would be "undesirable" for Parliament to try to pass such a law as it goes against the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".
His comments come despite more than two-thirds of voters saying they favoured a ban on full-face veils in a Five News and YouGov poll.
French MPs voted almost unanimously to ban the burka in France, but Mr Green said it was "very unlikely" the move would be copied here.
"Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do," he told the Sunday Telegraph.
Speaking on Sky's Sunday Live, the Environment Secretary added that a ban on the burka was not "what this country's all about".
"I don't, living in this country as a woman, want to be told what I can and can't wear," Caroline Spelman told Adam Boulton.
"One of the things we pride ourselves on in this country is being free, and being free to choose what you wear is a part of that," she added.
"So actually banning the burka is absolutely contrary, I think, to what this country's all about."
Fellow Tory MP Philip Hollobone has introduced a private members' bill which would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public, although it is not expected to have much success.
He has declared that in his Kettering constituency surgeries he will not meet with burka or niqab-clad women unless they lift their veils.
One of those who thinks the burka should be outlawed is the chairman of the Muslim Education Centre in Oxford.
"We're not telling these women what they can wear. We're telling them the only thing they should do is uncover their faces," said imam Dr Taj Hargey.
"I think this notion that somehow this is a religious symbol, a Koranic requirement, is nonsense."
Although Mr Green said that there were occasions when it was important to be able to see someone's face, he said it would be undesirable to pass a law dictating what people wore.
In April, Belgium became the first country in Europe to outlaw the burka in public places.
Spanish politicians are also set to debate the issue after the country's leading opposition party said it had put forward a motion to be discussed in parliament this week.
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